“Public reaction to the solar panels was positive,” says Ken Ashworth, the city’s power and light director.

According to Ashworth, the solar panels are expected to offset about 34 tons of carbon emissions per year, or the same amount generated by using 3,500 gallons of gasoline. This is possible because the panels will generate an estimated 43.4 MWh annually, which will help the city avoid significant electricity costs as it sells the grid-tied system’s energy to the local utility. Since March, the system has generated 36.4 MWh of electricity, which has saved Danville about $2,837.

Getting on the grid

Before installing the system and tying it to the electrical grid, Danville officials first had to find the proper location for the panels, says Ashworth.

The requirements included finding a city-owned, southwestern-facing rooftop on a building with sufficient roof support structures. “The Community Market Building ended up being a perfect fit,” says Ashworth.

In addition, the highly visible location at a market and as a neighbor to a research facility didn’t hurt either. The adjacent Danville Science Center now houses a kiosk where residents can see the solar panels’ energy output and other solar industry information on a computer there, he notes.

While the market solar project was Danville’s first venture into renewable energy, and while nothing is official on any new projects, city Power and Light Director Ken Ashworth says Danville is considering several future options in the clean energy sector.“We really went the extra mile on it,” he says.